On Friday March 11, 2011 who did not witness over the news or via any other media source the wreckage and damage caused by the recent earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan?

A mere few seconds of tremors with a destructive tsunami and the whole region was reduced to ruins, homes and buildings swept away, hundreds of people perished, devastation of property and infrastructure plus overwhelming damage.

If we truly observe, we will notice that recently, the environment has changed more frequently than ever before. Infact, these changes have had huge impact on human lives. For instance, there are more multitudes of earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and others disasters. Both human lives and properties are lost in the process.

But we could ask why do such things happen at a particular place, affecting a certain community or country, and not others? Indeed, these disasters are tests for one's faith and patience. These disasters also call upon us to self-reflect and remind us not to do things against the teachings of Allah or are destructive to our lives. If we have forgotten Allah and we have been negligent in our duties, these disasters are wake-up calls for us to reinforce our faith in Allah.

Not too long ago in the past year we have all witnessed a range of various forms of natural catastrophes throughout the world and many were just a few months apart.

According to many news sources some of the major disasters that made headlines in the year 2010/2011 were:

Haiti 7.0 Earthquake

A 7.0 earthquake struck the capital city, Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 12, 2010 resulting in the deaths of 200,000 to 250,000 persons. The quake and the aftershocks leveled the city and surrounding area. Immediate relief efforts were drastically hampered by devastating damage caused to the ports, airport and roads.

Iceland Volcano Eruption

Amidst seismic rumblings recorded since December 2009, the Icelandic volcano erupted March 20, 2010. A second explosion followed on April 14, 2010. Air traffic across Northern Europe was grounded stranding millions of passengers. Aviation losses mounted into the millions of dollars due to canceled flights. Airlines did not fully recover from the aviation disaster until complete operations resumed after May 17, 2010.

Pakistan Flood Crisis

The flooding which swept through Pakistan beginning July 26, 2010 was the worst ever to hit that country. Fatalities in the floods reached almost 200,000 persons and further affected 20 million people The Pakistan flood relief effort is not over yet. The infrastructure damage was staggering. Nearly 10,000 schools and 1.7 million houses were destroyed and need to be rebuilt along with miles and miles of road, railway and infrastructure.

Australian Floods

A series of floods hit Australia, beginning in December 2010 and running into January 2011, primarily in the state of Queensland including its capital city, Brisbane. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities.At least seventy towns and over 200,000 people were affected and houses have been completely submerged

Allah says in the Quran "no calamity occurs, except by the leave of Allah, and whosoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart. and Allah knows all things. (Taghabun 64:11)

Therefore as Muslims we must believe that Allah is all Wise and All Knowing and everything that Allah does is just and fair and only Allah knows fully His Will.

Second we have to recognize the power and might of Allah through such events and attribute these happenings towards Allah. Occurrences of natural disasters are proofs of Allah's powers. Allah, with these disasters, makes evident to us that the sovereignty of the earth and the heavens is only in His Hands.

On numerous occasions many of us regard these natural happenings as a result of some natural or scientific phenomenon, and because of this it simply does not have any impact on us, resulting in absolutely no transformation or change in one's life.

We have to remember that associating these events to anything other than Allah is a sign of rejecting Allah. That is why we find a Hadith of the Prophet wherein he states:

One night it rained and Allah's messengerled us in the Fajr prayer at Hudaibiyah and after completing it, he turned to us and said," Do you know what your Lord has said?" We replied, "Allah and His Messengerknow best." He said, "Allah says "Some of my slaves get up believing in me, and others disbelieving in me. Those who say: We have been given rain through Allah's mercy, choice, and Allah's blessing, then he is a believer in Me, and has rejected the star. And whoever said: We have been given rain because of such-and-such star, then he is a believer in the star, and has rejected Me."

Yet in another hadith the Prophethighlights the related subject in a different way.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet said, "There was an eclipse of the sun in the time of the Messenger of Allah and the Messenger of Allah led the people in prayer. He stood, and did so for a long time. Then he went into ruku, and made the ruku long. Then he stood again, and did so for a long time, though not as long as the first time. Then he went into ruku, and made the ruku long, though not as long as the first time. Then he rose, and went down into sajdah. He then did the same in the second rakaah, and by the time he had finished the sun had appeared. He then gave a khutbah to the people, in which he praised Allah and then said, 'The sun and the moon are two of Allah's signs. They do not eclipse for anyone's death or for anyone's life. When you see an eclipse, invoke Allah, glorify Allah by saying "Allah is the greatest" and give sadaqah.

It becomes apparent from these Ahadith that the clouds which bring heavy rains, events of natural disasters or unnatural occurrences in the universe are from Allah alone. Allah is the one who creates them and releases them. So when one attributes these events to nature or any astronomical and scientific phenomenon or anything else, then one is at stake in regards to his faith in Allah.

Our faith teaches us that such occurrences, to which man has no control, occur by the authorization and order of Allah.

Third a Muslim should take events of natural disasters and other such signs as warning from Allah and hurry to repent, remember Allah and ask forgiveness from Him as disasters and calamities are an outcome of our escalating evil deeds and disobedience to Allah.

The Ahadith are full of warnings that certain actions will bring certain definite conditions. In other words these particular actions are a cause which will bring about a consequence. In a concise Hadith of Tirmidhi narrated by Abu Hurairah (R.A.) the Messenger is reported to have said:

3. When Zakaat will be regarded as a burden i.e. to discharge zakat will become difficult

4. When learning will be acquired for other than a religious purpose

5. When a a man will obey his wife and is unkind towards his mother, he brings his friend near and drives his father far off. (The father will be treated like a stranger)

7. When voices will be raised in the Masajid

8. When the most impious will become leaders.

9. When the leader of a people will be the most worthless among them.

10. When a person will be honored merely out of fear for his evil.

11. When singing and musical instruments will become widespread.

12. When liquor will be consumed.

13. When the latter generations of this Ummah will curse their former ones.

THEN AWAIT VIOLENT WINDS, EARTHQUAKES, PEOPLE BEING SWALLOWED UP BY THE EARTH, DISFIGUREMENT, PELTING RAINS FROM THE SKY AND OTHER SIGNS WHICH WILL FOLLOW ONE AFTER ANOTHER LIKE BEADS OF A NECKLACE FOLLOWING ONE AFTER ANOTHER WHEN THE STRING IS CUT"

Thus, we should persistently fear Allah and seek His pardon for one's shortcomings and whenever we come across or experience such events we should ask ourselves have we violated any law of Allah? Could it be a punishment? If it is, let us repent and amend our ways.

Similarly, these disasters remind us all, that our lives today are very uncertain. Anything can happen. So, we should not postpone, nor delay, good things that we have to to do. Do them as soon as you can.

" Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: you're youth, before you become old; and your health, before you fall sick; and your richness, before you become poor; and your free time before you become busy; and your life, before your death." Likewise, if we have the intention to stop committing sins, mistakes and all bad acts, and we all know what they are, then we should not delay in abandoning them.

Fourth it is imperative that we provide support to those who have been affected with such disasters; therefore we should renew our commitment to human values and charity which is an integral part of our faith and offer to these victims such help and aid which will alleviate their difficulties and sufferings. When we see people in pain and suffering we should pay extra attention to their difficulties as it has been emphasized in an extremely touching Hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah (R.A.)

Abu Huraiyrah (R.A) states, "The Messenger of Allah, said, 'Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, will say on the Day of Rising, 'Son of Adam, I was ill and you did not visit Me.' The man will say, 'O Lord, how could I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds?' He will say, 'Do you not know that my slave so-and-so was ill and you did not visit him? Do you not know that if you had visited him, you would have found me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you did not feed me?' He will say, 'O Lord, how could I feed you when you are the Lord of the worlds?' He will say, 'Do you not know that my slave so-and-so asked you for food and you did not feed him? Do you not know that if you had fed him, you would have found that with Me. O son of Adam, I asked you for water and you did not give it to Me.' He will say, 'O Lord, how could I give You water when You are the Lord of the worlds?' He will say, 'My slave so-and-so asked you for water and you did not give it to him. Do you not know that if you had given him water, you would have found you would have found me with him"

Finally, it is the responsibility of every Muslim to reflect upon these events and take a lesson, also ask forgiveness for all shortcomings from Allah, be thankful to Him and recognize all the blessings which He has favored us with and express this gratitude by utilizing these blessings in compliance with the directives of Allah and not taking them for granted or being wasteful or extravagant.

May Allah protect us from every form of tragedy and assist those who have been affected and alleviate their sufferings and may we become those who are truly grateful to Allah for all His favors and blessings

With Ashmit Patel posing in the buff for an underwear campaign in a men's magazine recently, we bring you 10 Bollywooders who went naked before the camera

The actress had a rendezvous with Shashi Kapoor in Siddhartha that raised quite a few eyebrows in the '70s

1.Simi Garewal in 'Mera Naam Joker' and 'Siddhartha' (1972) – Newly returned from England, Simi Garewal bagged some of the most prestigious films from her generation, though she never found the commercial success of her peers. In both 'Mera Naam Joker' by Raj Kapoor and 'Siddhartha', a film adapted from Hermann Hesse's novel of the same name (both 1972), she sheds her quintessential whites and pretty much everything else too.

Protima Bedi stirred a hornet's nest with her morning jog in 1974

2.Protima Bedi in the Cine Blitz promotional campaign (1974) – Celebrated danseuse and Kabir Bedi's bohemian wife stripped down to nothing and ran naked on Juhu beach as part of a promotional campaign to launch filmi rag Cine Blitz in 1974. She made headlines, naturally.

Dimple's sarong getting undone led to a nude scene that lasted last than a second. Yet, it was the most rewound scene of 1985.

3. Dimple Kapadia in 'Saagar' (1985) – Her introduction to Rishi Kapoor in the film went like this: a young village belle goes for a dip in the ocean. Then when returning she wraps herself in a sarong, notices that Rishi Kapoor has been watching her through plastic weeds hanging above him. She trips and her sarong gets undone for a split second. Yet, to many, this qualified as at least a half-monty moment in Bollywood.

Mandakini may have been from small-town Meerut, but her transparent debut made her a national entity

4. Mandakini in 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili' (1985) – A cliché but it does remain one of the most bare-breasted moments in Hindi cinema. Mandakini became a household name with this blockbuster, but also vanished just as quickly following allegations of her being Dawood Ibrahim's moll.

SRK has never gotten as randy as he did with Deepa Memsaab

5.Deepa Sahi in 'Maya Memsaab' (1993) – In this film, director Ketan Mehta's wife played a day-glo Madame Bovary, a novel by Gustave Flaubert in which the wife of a doctor gives in to illicit affairs and hedonism to escape the banality of provincial life. And escape she does in what is perhaps Shah Rukh Khan's most carnal performance on screen as well. Deepa Sahi exposed her breasts and features in numerous romps with King Khan in this awkward adaptation.

They said she's in Dubai now, but Bombay was so much fun with her circa 1993

6.Mamta Kulkarni on the Stardust cover (1993) – She vanished just as quickly as she arrived too. However, in the early 1990s, Mamta Kulkarni was in the eye of a storm for appearing topless on the cover of Stardust magazine. Lawsuits were slapped and last-minute bails were sought in India's most regressive decade, but this was a first for a Bollywood actress after Protima Bedi's legendary Full Monty on Juhu beach in 1974 (see earlier note).

The model-cum-actress who debuted with Aashiqui did the full monty for art house guru Mani Kaul

7. Anu Agarwal in 'The Cloud Door' by Mani Kaul (1994) – This short Indo-German film by acclaimed director Mani Kaul was inspired by erotic themes in Hindi and Muslim literature. True to its genre, it featured the 'Aashiqui' girl naked in bed with Murad Ali in a rather steamy sequence.

Fashion's first supermodel couple shed all their inhibitions for an ad campaign. They only had their sneakers and a python for company

8. Milind Soman and Madhu Sapre in the Tuff shoes campaign (1995) – Okay, granted Madhu Sapre never bothered with Bollywood, but Milind Soman did. So this duo qualifies as a tinsel town couple that did ruffle many a right-wing feather when appearing in the buff for a sports shoe campaign in the mid-'90s.

The quintessential he-man from the jungle was seen his birthday suit in mentor B Subhash's English-language turkey Divine Lovers

9.Hemant Birje in 'Divine Lovers' (1997) - Director B Subhash made him a national sensation with 'Tarzan', a 1985 blockbuster film that Hemant Birje and his co-star Kimi Katkar are most remembered by. By the time Birje was forgotten, he was summoned to act in B Subhash's English-language film 'Divine Lovers', starring 'Grease 2' hero Maxwell Caulfield and Marc Zuber. Packaged as an erotic film set in exotic India, the film was initially to star Anu Agarwal, who developed cold feet based on the sheer amount of nudity required. Eventually they roped in some LA actress. The skin-flick bombed and B Subhash lost a lot of money. But Hemant Birje did appear in a flash nude moment in this one.

Helen Brodie had some pretty steamy scenes in Jag Mundhra's Monsoon

10. Helen Brodie in Jag Mundhra's 'Monsoon' (2001) – Her debut at the cusp of the millennium, 'Hadh Kar Di Aapne', sank without a trace. Then a year later, Helen Brodie truly crossed over. To LA, on the sets of soft porn filmmaker Jag Mundhra's 'Monsoon'. And hadh kar di Mundhra saab ne! Brodie found some pretty significant exposure with this flick.

She is the daughter of a Nobel Prize-winning economist. She was also rather economical with her clothes in Rang Rasiya11. Nandana Sen in 'Rang Rasiya' (2008) – Daughter of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, Nandana Sen stars in Ketan Mehta's 'Rang Rasiya'. The film is based on India's most celebrated calendar artist, Raja Ravi Varma played by the brooding Randeep Hooda. Sen plays Randeep Hooda's muse and since Raja Ravi Varma painted nudes, Nandana too gave us some mirch masala.